Seven Deadly Strikes
by The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien
Summary: Harry has faced Dementors, Death Eaters and Voldemort, but now a far more mundane menace has found a home at Hogwarts. One that even Voldemort might not be able to handle.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I love snakes. I love watching the specials on National Geographic channel or Animal Planet. And I got to thinking, what if various venomous snakes somehow got into Hogwarts. If you don't like snakes, this might not be the best story to read.

I know I've got several other stories in the works but this idea's been in my head for a while and I decided to just go ahead and post it.

STORY SUMMARY: Harry has enough on his plate with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. But what happens when something much more mundane but far more deadly turns up? And no one is immune from this new menace.

* * *

HARRY POTTER: Seven Deadly Strikes

* * *

The old truck chugged down the road towards an estate in the middle of Scotland. Driving past the ruins of what must have once been a magnificent castle centuries ago, the driver was too busy staring and missed the deep pothole in the road. The truck bounced wildly and one of the wooden crates lashed to the flatbed trailer fell off and tumbled down into a ditch, breaking apart and releasing at least 5 alien species into an unfamiliar land.

Sensing movement, a Western Diamondback rattlesnake curled, his tail rattling fiercely. As a skeletal horse came closer, the snake struck out, sinking his long fangs into the leg of the thestral.

--

When Rubeus Hagrid found the dead thestral the following morning, there were no signs of the snakes that had escaped from the broken crate. The dead animal looked grotesque; bloody and bloated and the Hogwarts gamekeeper wondered what could have caused such a violent death. After burying the thestral, Hagrid took the broken crate up to the castle and up to the office of Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Ahhh, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, cheerfully, coming in from his private chambers. Looking at the wrecked crate Hagrid had placed on the desk, Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"

"Found this by the road, Headmaster," Hagrid explained, looking at the wood. "Some muggle must have been driving down the road. Crate must have fallen off a… what do yer call 'em?"

"Trucks," Dumbledore said, thoughtfully, studying the writing on the crate. "Snakes." Inside the crate there seemed to be at least 6 different sections.

"Pardon?" Hagrid asked, puzzled. Looking at the writing as well, he said, "What types of snakes?"

"That," Dumbledore said, worried. "Is what I do not know. But there looks to be about 6 of them."

Hagrid thought for a moment then said, "I found one of the thestrals dead by the crate."

"Then we must assume that at least one of the snakes inside was venomous," Dumbledore replied, gravely. "I will inform the staff and we will have to be very careful to keep our students safe from harm."

-------------

After being informed of the potential danger of an unknown myriad of venomous snakes, Potions Master Severus Snape immediately retreated to his dungeons. Dumbledore had tasked him with concocting antivenin to counteract any snake bites.

The problems was that different types of snakes used different types of venom and without the slightest idea of what kinds of snakes they could be dealing with, Snape would either need to make numerous types of antivenins or one type that would reverse the effects of different types of venom.

Setting up several small cauldrons at the front of his classroom, Snape began work, hoping that all this trouble would be a waste of time.

* * *

Two days before the students were due to return to Hogwarts another snake showed itself. At first, Hagrid wasn't sure what the pale gray thing was at the edge of the lake. But as he went closer, he recognized the thing as a snakeskin. Easily 25 feet long, the skin was recently shed.

----

Inside the castle, Dumbledore was pacing the Great Hall anxiously. Seeing Hagrid coming in carrying an absolutely enormous snakeskin, he stopped. "Where did you find that?" Dumbledore wanted to know.

"By the lake, Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid replied.

"The beast that shed that would not have fit in the crate you found before," Dumbledore said, thinking. He knew that 30 miles beyond the nearest muggle village was an estate which was supposed to be the home of a well-known—at least in the muggle world—snake expert. Was the man aware that a huge predator was living in an area where hundreds of students walked every day? And thinking of the danger, how could Dumbledore alert the students without creating a panic?

* * *

Sitting in his compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter rested his head against the window as the Train started away from England and along the long and winding track that led to Scotland. This summer had been the worst ever, by far. After the TriWizard Tournament and Cedric Diggory's death Harry had been having nightmares about being back in the graveyard. Add to that the fact that both Vernon and Dudley had been beating him regularly…

Vernon always kept the physical abuse to a minimum. Harry might have a black eye now and then or bruises on his upper arms from being squeezed too hard… But this summer had ended with Harry in the hospital with a broken leg, a sprained neck, two cracked ribs, broken nose, a serious black eye and multiple fractures of the left arm including two broken fingers and a dislocated thumb, elbow, and shoulder.

Once Molly Weasley—the mother of one of Harry's best friends—had found out, she'd sent the twins—Fred and George—to fetch Harry from the hospital before going to the Dursleys herself.

Looking out the window as the towns started to give way to countryside, Harry slowly flexed his left hand and arm before slowly rolling his head across. It had taken the better part of two days for Mrs. Weasley to heal Harry's injuries and it was a week before Harry's leg was strong enough to bear his full weight.

Closing his eyes, Harry's mind slowly drifted back to a week after his birthday.

* * *

It was early in the morning when a panicked scream woke the inhabitants of Number 4 Privet Drive.

Vernon Dursley growled angrily as he got out of bed and charged down the hall to the bedroom of his nephew, Harry, who was now wide awake, drenched in cold sweat and breathing heavily. Without a word, Vernon grabbed Harry by the back of the hair and dragged him out of the room. "I'll give you something to scream about, boy!" Vernon shouted, throwing Harry down the stairs where the skinny boy landed in a heap. Slowly coming down the stairs, his son behind him, Vernon pulled Harry up by the arm, twisting the limb back until there was the sickening crack and pop of bones breaking and joints dislocating.

Dudley landed a good punch to Harry's face before landing two to Harry's side. "_That's_ for waking me up, Potter!" Dudley said, menace in his voice.

Harry felt himself losing consciousness and couldn't remember the next few hours, eventually waking the following afternoon in the hospital, a brace around his neck, and his leg and left arm in full casts.

As Harry tried to think through the haze of painkillers, he soon became aware of an older woman standing next to the bed. "Who…?"

"I'm Dr. Winston," the woman replied as she slowly elevated the back of Harry's bed.

Harry winced as the movement jostled his neck, side, and his left arm which was in a cast up to his shoulder and immobilized by a sling. "How did I get here?" Harry asked, glancing at the doctor who moved more into his range of vision.

"Joggers found you at the playground," Dr. Winston replied, giving Harry a look. "Do you know who attacked you?"

Harry looked away and didn't answer. Looking at his broken body, he asked, "How bad?"

"Sprained neck, black eye, two broken ribs," Dr. Winston replied. "Bad, but not terribly serious. The worst was your leg and arm. We had to put 6 pins in your leg and knee to repair the damage. And you've got 4 pins in your arm." Seeing Harry's scrunched look, she asked, "Do you usually wear glasses?" When Harry tried to nod, she stopped him. "You can't move your head. You sprained the muscles in your neck. You're lucky you didn't do any further damage. It could have been much worse."

----------

It was two weeks after waking up in the hospital that Harry had his first visitor, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody. Moody looked gruff as ever, but when Harry looked away from him, he sighed as he sat down. "My father was a dark wizard," Moody began, quietly. "When I told him I wasn't about to join the Death Eaters he blasted my leg off." Waiting until Harry looked at him, he added, "Never did manage to grow the damn thing back." Looking Harry over, he said, "I was about your age, Potter."

"Does Dumbledore know I'm here?" Harry asked, curiously.

Moody grunted an affirmative. "Molly Weasley's fixing up the place first. Fred and George should be here in a few days to fetch you."

"Do Ron and Hermione know?" Harry wondered. It wasn't that he was ashamed of them seeing him like this. He just didn't want to hear all the questions.

"About you being in the hospital or that it was your uncle that did it?" Moody asked, fixing Harry with both eyes.

"Any of it," Harry said, flatly.

"Probably." Moody shrugged. "Anything you want me to tell them?"

* * *

Harry's musings were interrupted by Ginny Weasley who came into the compartment with Fred, George, and Ron and Hermione Granger. When Harry didn't look at them, Hermione said, "Harry, if you ever want to talk…" Realizing that obviously Harry didn't want to talk, she sighed. "We're here for you Harry."

After a short while, the others left but Hermione stayed put in her seat across from Harry. "Hermione, I don't want to talk about it."

"How long has this been going on, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Usually the Dursleys like to pretend that I don't exist," Harry replied, still looking out the window. "They rarely hurt me."

"What happened?" Hermione wanted to know.

"I had a nightmare," Harry replied, succinctly. When he didn't say anymore, Hermione got up and left the compartment.

--

In another compartment, Fred and George looked pensive and yet unsurprised at Harry's aloofness. While Hermione, Ron, and Ginny talked about Harry, the twins quietly slipped out of the compartment and went back to Harry's.

Harry looked up when the door opened again and sighed when he saw the Weasley twins come in and sit down opposite him. "I'm really not in the mood, guys."

"We know," Fred replied.

"Just thought you'd like some company," George added.

After a few minutes, Harry let out a soft chuckle. "Stop it. Seeing the two of you being serious is too weird. Tell me about the joke shop."

Fred and George grinned with relief before pulling out their lists of plans and order sheets.

-------------

The rest of the trip was uneventful and when Harry finally got off the train he found Ron and Hermione talking with Ginny. "Hey," Harry said tentatively as he approached his friends.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked, hesitantly.

"Not really," Harry replied. "But I'll be fine."

"Okay," Ron replied with a nod as they headed to the line of carriages. Harry went last but hesitated before he climbed into the carriage.

"You okay, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, vaguely as he looked around. Finally getting in, Harry shrugged off the sound he'd heard. It was probably nothing.

--

Curled in the bushes next to the path, the rattlesnake's tail was rattling fiercely as the students and carriages rolled on.

Finally, as the last carriage headed towards the castle, the snake slithered off into the bushes in search of safer surroundings.

----------

Sitting in the center of the staff table in the Great Hall, Dumbledore was lost in thought. Only an hour ago he'd returned from the estate of Gregory Hindle, a world-renowned herpetologist. As Hindle gave Dumbledore a tour of the property, the scientist explained at how his son had been fascinated with snakes and how eventually Gregory started studying snakes as well. "I know why you're here," Hindle said as he made tea in the kitchen. "This is about that shipment of specimens that got lost, isn't it?"

"Dr. Hindle, I am the headmaster of a school where hundreds of students walk the grounds every day," Dumbledore said, simply. "I am concerned for their safety."

Hindle gave Dumbledore a wry smile. "Hogwarts, right?" Seeing Dumbledore's surprised look, he said, "Damon went there years ago. That's when he got into snakes."

"Which snakes escaped?" Dumbledore asked, quickly.

Hindle led the headmaster to a study and rifled through some papers before pulling out a list. Skimming over it, he said, "Western Diamondback, Russell's Viper, black mamba… the taipans are accounted for. Bloody hell…" Looking up, he said, "The king cobra is missing. Along with… a Rinkhal's cobra, a coral snake… and a fer-de-lance."

"Nothing large?" Dumbledore asked, thinking of the snake skin that Hagrid had found.

Hindle thought for a moment. "The king cobra can grow up to be 18 feet in length."

"My gamekeeper found a 25 foot snake skin," Dumbledore explained.

"Annie," Hindle said, paling very slightly. "I saved her from poachers. The enclosure out back is her territory. Titanium fencing which goes 10 feet below the ground. There's a pool and everything… I don't know how she escaped. If there's a pool or a lake near the school that's likely where you'll find her."

Dumbledore set his cup of tea down, feeling alarmed at what he'd discovered. "What do I do if someone is bitten?"

Hindle set his own teacup down and stood, beckoning Dumbledore to follow him. In a lab in the basement, Hindle went to a cooler and a case and loaded vials of antivenin into the case before handing it to Dumbledore. "I never understood the whole magic thing. But maybe you can work with this and get it to work faster."

--

Now as he sat watching the students file into the room, the second through seventh years joining their housemates and friends and the first years gathering at the front of the room before the staff table Dumbledore was worried. Any of the students could be bitten or killed.

The only question was who would be the first.


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Harry won't be the only one getting hurt in this story. Hermione and Malfoy will also be attacked by snakes and someone cold-blooded will be moving into the castle.

Also, in reference for this story, if any readers have ever actually been bitten by a snake, I would like to know for reference purposes. I like to try and stay realistic for stories and watching nature specials only helps so much. Thanks in advance.

* * *

Chapter 2

The following morning, Pomona Sprout began setting up for the 5th year Herbology students. As she set out equipment, she pondered Dumbledore's warning to the staff the previous night. It was bad enough that the school had been attacked in the past by supernatural enemies but now there was something even deadlier that was going around unknown.

She didn't like it. What if something happened to her students? It had been bad enough more than two years ago when the basilisk had caused several students to be Petrified. But according to Dumbledore, the snakes that were now loose could kill in minutes.

Hearing footsteps outside of the greenhouses, Pomona finished her preparations and watched the first of the students file in and take their seats.

----

Stopping on the hill on the way to Herbology, Harry looked around as he heard the same buzzing rattle he'd heard last night. He recognized the soft hissing that accompanied the sound as a snake talking, but the strange thing was that there was an almost American accent.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, curiously as she stopped next to Harry. "What is it?"

"A snake," Harry replied, looking around as the rattle and the hissing grew louder. The reptile was close and by the sound of the rattle, it was _very_ unhappy.

'_Stay away! Come no further! Leave me alone!'_ Hissed the snake, trying to warn off its enemies.

Not wanting himself or his friends bitten, Harry decided to try talking to the snake to try and calm it down. Picturing a snake in his mind, Harry said in Parseltongue, "I mean you no harm. Where are you?"

'_Begone, human! I will kill you if you come closer!"_

Harry stopped. This snake was angry and aggressive. It wasn't about to strike for no reason but it felt threatened and was ready and willing to kill to defend itself.

"Harry, we'll be late for class," Hermione implored. She knew that Harry wanted to go looking for the snake which she had also started hearing in the bushes. From what she knew about snakes, this one sounded like a rattlesnake, a group of serpents which weren't typically known for being well-mannered.

Harry nodded in agreement as he slowly walked towards the greenhouses. He knew Hermione was just trying to keep him out of danger, but Harry couldn't help worrying about the bad tempered snake loose on the grounds. But just as he, Hermione, and Ron reached their class, they heard a blood-curdling, inhuman scream coming from the lake followed by very violent splashing.

Running to the sound, they were soon hit with a very strong smell of fish and stopping about 100 feet from the lake, they gaped at the sight of the giant squid lying on the beach, freshly dead.

Slowly walking closer, Hermione didn't see any injuries to the beast but clearly something had killed it. Near the head there was what looked like bite marks but what could have made them, Hermione had no idea.

"What happened to it?" Ron asked, staring in disbelief. The giant squid was a good 40 feet long, easy. So what could have possibly killed something of that size and strength?

"I dunno," Harry admitted. Thinking of the basilisk he'd battled 2nd year, he knew that to even go up against the squid, the snake—or creature—in question had to be _at least_ 25 feet long.

There was another scream, this time coming from the greenhouses. Turning and running back in the direction they came, Harry, Ron, and Hermione burst into the greenhouse, stopping dead when the three of them saw Draco Malfoy clutching his right arm while looking at a brown snake curled on the nearest table next to a large, broken flower pot.

The other students were gathered on the far end of the room, and when they saw the open door they all squeezed past Harry, Ron, and Hermione and ran for the castle.

"That's a fer-de-lance," Hermione said, her face draining of color as she slowly pulled out her wand, her eyes locked on the snake which seemed more than ready to strike again if anyone got too close. "Harry, get Malfoy to the hospital wing." Seeing that Harry wasn't moving—whether out of fear or because he was listening to something the snake was saying—Hermione smacked Harry in the upper arm. "Harry! Malfoy needs antivenom!"

'_Come no further, human,'_ the snake hissed angrily as Harry took a few small steps towards Malfoy. _'We will bite who we wish. You are no match for the venoms we possess.'_

"Hermione, don't move," Harry said, his heart racing as he watched Hermione start to advance towards the injured Slytherin. Looking at Professor Sprout, he said, "Get a bucket. Put it over the snake."

As Sprout did so—barely avoiding being bitten herself—Ron and Harry grabbed Malfoy whose arm was already beginning to swell and helped him up to the castle while Hermione and Sprout worked on containing the snake.

-------------

In the hospital wing, the bite marks on Malfoy's arm looked angry against the swollen limb. As Madame Pomfrey administered the first dose of all-purpose antivenom Snape had developed, she looked at Harry and Ron. "Did you see what kind of snake it was?"

"Brown," Harry and Ron replied in unison. After a few moments of thinking, Harry clarified, "It had a… a pointed head. Hermione knew what it was. It was like… fur lance… something."

"Fer-de-lance," Pomfrey said, nodding as she grabbed a potions' bottle and poured out a measured dose and handed it to Malfoy who drained the glass. "That should help with the swelling, Mr. Malfoy."

"Madame Pomfrey!" A first year shouted as she came into the room, looking pale. "It's Professor Umbridge! She's dead!"

As the Hogwarts nurse ran off to see what had happened, Harry and Ron exchanged worried looks. It wasn't even the end of the first day of classes and there were two fatalities already counting the giant squid.. How many more would there be?

----------

In Potions class the following week, Harry felt his focus concentrating as Snape set the class a more important task than the students had ever had before: coming up with new and better snake-bite antidotes than what the Hogwarts hospital wing already possessed. There hadn't been any more human attacks but the students had noticed everyone was being more cautious, especially when they were outside. Sprout had set up anti-snake charms outside of the greenhouses, and Hagrid had taken over one of the unused classrooms for Care of Magical Creatures classes rather than having the students walk down the grounds to his hut.

After seeing Malfoy being bitten by a deadly snake and hearing that a coral snake had killed Umbridge, Harry knew that they were waging war against a foe that was indiscriminant and unlike the basilisk, these snakes were just as deadly to purebloods as it was to muggleborns.

In Potions class, the creation of the antivenoms should have been easy in Harry's mind. After all, phoenix tears had worked ever so well on basilisk venom. But for some reason, there was something about the venom of a normal snake that seemed not to respond well to phoenix tears.

"How's Malfoy?" Hermione asked as she added a bezoar to the potion simmering.

"Madame Pomfrey said she's having trouble keeping his blood from clotting," Harry replied, quietly. "And he's having a reaction to the potion for the swelling. His arm's turning colors."

Hermione shuddered as she thought of Malfoy's condition. She didn't like him at all but no one—save for Voldemort—deserved a slow, painful death from a snake bite.

When Snape came by to test their potion, he seemed satisfied with the results even if his face didn't betray the emotion. "What did you add other than what was written on the board?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Hermione.

"A bezoar," Hermione replied, simply. She knew how Snape felt about students taking liberties with potions recipes but she knew that as an essential ingredient in antidotes, a bezoar would likely be useful. "I-I thought it couldn't hurt."

"Clever," Snape muttered and turned away quickly. As he went to survey the other students' progress, Snape knew that a bezoar was unlikely to help much but… Glancing at Hermione, Snape sighed. Much as he loathed admitting it, the girl was smarter than any other student he'd taught in the last 15 years.

As Hermione bottled the potion and labeled the bottles, Harry left the table to return the spare ingredients to the store room. He thought it strange that Snape would pay Hermione a compliment, but decided it was probably guilt. After all there were snakes loose on the grounds that would not care who was Hufflepuff or Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Malfoy was now in the hospital wing and could lose his life—at the very least, he'd probably lose his arm. And even then, Harry hoped Madame Pomfrey would be able to regrow Malfoy's limb.

Dwelling on his thoughts and not paying attention as he neared his station, Harry slipped in a puddle of spilled potion by Crabbe and Goyle's station and fell to the ground, the legs of his pants getting soaked in the liquid. "Harry!" Hermione said, worried as she bustled over to help him up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Harry replied as he stood. His legs felt wobbly and they started tingling as the potions started to seep through the fabric and came into contact with his skin as he sat down. "At least I think so," he added.

Hermione looked doubtful as she watched Harry. "Your pants are covered in potion," she said, not sure whether it was safe to touch the soaked fabric.

"I'm sure the house-elves will—" Harry gave a hiss of pain as the tingling increased, and his legs suddenly felt like they were on fire. "Bugger it!" he shouted as the stinging and burning got worse.

"Professor!" Hermione said, urgently, looking over at Snape who was inspecting Lavender Brown's antidote.

After looking up and seeing the look of pain on Harry's face, Snape swept over, avoiding the spilled potion before removing it with a swish of his wand. Using a silver knife, he ripped a long tear in the right leg of Harry's pants and—so as to avoid getting potion on his own skin—carefully used the tip of the knife to pull back the fabric, stopping when he saw the bare limb. The burn was similar to an acid burn, but Snape couldn't avoid a sharp intake of breath as he noticed that the liquid soaking the bottoms of Harry's pants seemed to be slowly dissolving the flesh as it seeped through the fabric and came into contact with Harry's skin. Donning his dragonhide gloves for protection, Snape magically removed Harry's pants so that the teenager was sitting in his boxer shorts and looked at Hermione. "Water," he ordered and watched the Gryffindor use her wand to spray off Harry's legs which only seemed to slow down the effects.

Harry was trying not to cry out and it was getting harder to stay conscious because of the pain that was gradually building worse and worse. His legs were burning like hell and it felt like something was was slowly gnawing away at his flesh. Snape poured three vials of different antidotes on the burns and dissolving flesh but it didn't seem to be helping much. As Harry finally felt himself lose consciousness, he was only dimly aware of being levitated onto a stretcher.

----

Bursting into the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey was tending to Malfoy, Snape brought an unconscious Harry over to a bed and very gently lay the boy down, being very careful not to touch the gaping wounds which were starting to show bare bone.

"Severus, what happened?" Pomfrey wanted to know when she saw Harry unconscious on the bed. Looking at the teenager's legs, she gasped and felt her stomach give a violent lurch. "What…? Dear God!"

"Crabbe and Goyle's 'antidote'," Snape sneered. He should have banned the two from the assignment but had at the last minute decided to try a hand at being 'fair'. "Their potion spilled onto the floor and Potter slipped. At first it looked like a chemical burn but now there is severe necrotizing fasciitis."

Grabbing all the antidotes and burn potions she could, Pomfrey tried to work as quickly as she could to stop the devastating effects of the potion burns to Harry's legs. It was thankful that the boy was unconscious as the last resort was starting to become the only option. She could always grow the Harry's legs back… hopefully. Of course that could depend on the types of antidotes Snape had already employed. There were potions that could essentially render individuals immune to magical healing.

"Severus, give me that vial," Pomfrey ordered, looking at the vial of blue potion on the table next to where Snape stood. "We need to remove the damaged tissue immediately."

Snape could tell what Pomfrey was thinking and as much as he disliked Potter, he hesitated. "Between the antidotes I administered and the ones you used," Snape protested. "Potter will most likely be resistant to magical limb regrowth."

"If we leave his legs like this," Pomfrey snapped, irritably. "Then infection will set in and he'll die."

"We could try phoenix tears," Snape suggested. "To heal the wounds."

Pomfrey gave an exasperated sigh. "You think I _want_ to chop the poor boy's legs off?" Seeing Snape's determined look, she sighed. "Get Dumbledore. He can assess Potter's injuries and give a second opinion." Frowning sternly at Snape she added, "What the headmaster says goes."

Snape nodded once and raced out of the hospital wing and headed as quickly as he could to Dumbledore's office where he found the headmaster with Fawkes the phoenix. "Headmaster," Snape said, urgently.

"Has someone else been bitten?" Dumbledore asked, immediately as he stood. "Who?"

As quickly as he could, Snape told the headmaster what had happened, the disagreement in the hospital wing, and the two equally unfavorable choices concerning Harry.

Dumbledore said nothing for a brief moment before he swept towards the door, letting Snape exit first. When the two men and Fawkes the phoenix entered the hospital wing, Dumbledore managed to stifle a gasp at the sight of the gaping wounds on Harry's legs.

Fawkes swooped into the room and landed on the bed next to Harry's legs. Bowing his head down, Fawkes let a few tears fell on the open wounds but after a few minutes of tense waiting, nothing happened.

Looking at Snape and Pomfrey, Dumbledore sighed and nodded to Pomfrey. "Do what needs to be done to save Harry's life.."

"Headmaster," Snape said quickly. "The combination of antidotes to the potion coupled with the potions used to stop the effects on Potter's legs will prevent their regrowth."

"What do you suggest, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, calmly. "Neither magic nor potions can repair the damage. Open wounds will breed infection and Harry will lose his legs anyway… if not his life."

"There must be _something_!" Snape shouted, angrily. All he could think about was what Harry had been through… All _Lily's son_ had been through. But he also knew that Pomfrey and Dumbledore were right. Angrily, Snape stormed out of the room and headed back to the dungeons.

"Sometimes it seems like Severus actually cares about Potter," Pomfrey muttered as she picked up a vial of potion. After pouring a dose of sleeping potion down Harry's throat, she raised her wand and pointed it at Harry's legs above the wounds.

"Severus has always been torn," Dumbledore explained, watching Pomfrey work at severing Harry's legs. "Between his hatred for James Potter… and his love for Lily Evans."

"Which do you think will win out in the end?" Pomfrey asked as she vanished the two mangled legs and bandaged the stumps.

"Love," Dumbledore replied, simply, as he, too, left the room.

-------------------

When Harry awoke, he could feel that his legs were no longer burning but they felt… disconnected and there was an odd tingling. Turning his head, he saw Hermione sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him. "Hermione. What happened?"

Handing Harry his glasses, Hermione waited until he sat up before asking, "How do you feel?" she asked, tentatively.

Harry looked puzzled until he looked down and saw that his legs were gone—his left leg missing mid-thigh and his right a bit above the knee. Reaching out a hand, he felt the end of his left leg through the blanket.

"Madame Pomfrey and Snape tried everything," Hermione said, gently. She knew Harry would likely be upset and knew also that he would appreciate her honesty. "Snape thinks that it was the combination of the snake venom and the botched potion that caused the necrotizing fasciitis… Err, the flesh-eating effects."

"Well," Harry said, hopefully. "Madame Pomfrey can grow my legs back, right?" But seeing the look on Hermione's face, his heart sank.

"One of the potions Snape tried is an old formula that effectively neutralizes any dangerous magic," Hermione explained. "It basically renders the person immune to magical healing in regards to the original injury."

"So… she can't…?" Harry took a deep breath and nodded in understanding. "So the potion… It… Snape tried to stop the effects of the potions burns but because of the potion he used…"

"Any spells or potions to undo the damage would be ineffective on healing the burns or any tissue damage," Hermione explained. "But it doesn't prevent you from being healed from any other injuries."

"So just my legs were affected," Harry finished. Looking over at Malfoy, Harry noticed that while Malfoy didn't look as sick as before, his right arm was missing just above the elbow. "And Malfoy? What happened to his arm? Was it the bite?"

Hermione looked over at Malfoy and then turned back to Harry. "Malfoy was starting to get clots in his arm and the venom was destroying his blood. Pomfrey managed to get the clotting under control but Malfoy started to experience nerve damage. Some sort of reaction to the antivenin. Snape tried removing and then regrowing Malfoy's arm, but that didn't work. He still couldn't use his arm."

Sighing, Harry sat up more and studied his best friend. "So what now?"

Hermione gave a small shrug. "Healers from St. Mungo's will be here in a few days to fit the two of you for prosthetics. Oliver wood is taking a break from Puddlemere United to help you get used to flying again. "

Harry nodded before turning the conversation away from his situation. "Have we found any of the snakes?"

Hermione nodded in reply, but did take note of the change in conversation. "The fer-de-lance that bit Malfoy and the coral snake that killed Umbridge are on their way to a herpetologist Dumbledore knows—a Dr. Hindle. He studies snakes," she added, seeing Harry's look.

"Dementors, giant spiders, Voldemort…" Harry said, thoughtfully. "Hell, even the Dursleys. And a damn _snake_ is what…" Seeing Hermione's look, Harry stopped and looked away.

But given how secretive Harry was being, Hermione wasn't about to let Harry off the hook so quickly. "And a snake did what, Harry?"

But Harry didn't reply and Hermione just sat there, giving him a look. When they heard footsteps, both turned to see Nymphadora Tonks coming into the room followed by Dumbledore, Snape, and Madame Pomfrey.

"You alright, Harry?" Tonks asked, looking at him, concerned. "Sirius was worried about you."

"I'm fine," Harry muttered. He didn't want to talk about what had happened and he certainly didn't want to think about what his godfather, Sirius would do if he found out about Harry's… incident.

"Miss Granger, would you mind if I had a word with you and Miss Tonks?" Dumbledore asked, pulling the two ladies away from Harry while Pomfrey went to check on Malfoy.

Looking at Harry, Snape stiffened slightly. He knew Dumbledore wanted him to talk to Harry, but it wasn't a conversation Snape wanted to have. "I do not expect you to thank me for saving your life, Potter," he said, simply.

"Good," Harry said, coolly. "I wasn't planning on thanking you."

Snape had expected the response along with Harry's cold demeanor but a large part of him was sorely tempted to reprimand the teenager for his attitude. With a brief nod, he said, "You are James Potter's son… but you are also Lily's. Until I repay the debt I owe her… I'll keep saving your life."

"Why?" Harry demanded. "What did you owe my mum?" Right away, Harry could see that Snape didn't want to talk about it and that just seemed to make Harry even more annoyed. When would people start telling him the honest truth? About his scar, about his connection to Voldemort, how he survived a deadly curse when he was only a baby… When would everyone stop treating him like a child and just be straight with him about what happened in his life?

Snape couldn't take the stares he was getting from Harry and finally had to look away. Seeing Lily's green eyes staring at him, the hurt and anger…

Snape remembered standing outside Gryffindor Tower after calling a Lily a mudblood, trying to apologize for what he'd done… what he'd said… There had been the same hurt and anger in Lily's eyes that now was visible in Harry's.

After leaving and going back to his own quarters, Snape still couldn't erase the image of Harry giving him that cold look.

-------------

On the far edge of the lake, in a cove shaded by low hanging willows, the anaconda coiled in the mud, preparing for a good sleep. This land was similar but different from the home she had left. There were strange creatures here and more humans… many more, but they stayed away from her side of the lake. The temperature was growing colder. Soon she would have to find a warmer home. But warmer likely meant closer to human who would hunt and kill her and her babies.

Perhaps this would become a wonderful new home… a place for the babies growing inside of her. But first she needed to find warmth and safety… and soon.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm not exactly going to have Malfoy and Harry becoming friends in this story, but Malfoy will be knocked off his high horse.

And as far as the snakes that are still on the loose, there's a king cobra, a Russell's viper (a VERY deadly snake), a black mamba (equally deadly), a Western Diamondback rattlesnake (probably one of the worst bad-tempered snakes), a Rinkhals cobra (a type of spitting cobra), and the anaconda who will be moving into the castle in the future.

And as far as how Harry and Malfoy put their prosthetics on, I did some research ahead of time so I'd be able to write it better.

Read and review or I'll sic a python on you!!

Chapter 3

* * *

On a warm Saturday morning, Hermione was in the library looking over the small stack of books she'd found on common snakes. She'd asked Dumbledore a few days ago about what types of snakes were on the grounds and while the headmaster had seemed hesitant to tell her, he did eventually give her the types of snakes.

On the surface, one might think that the king cobra would be the most immediate threat, but as she read, Hermione thought that the Russell's viper and the black mamba sounded to be the worst.

Of course, there was also the anaconda to be considered. 28 feet long and more than capable of devouring one of the first or second year students if they got too close…

Writing down her notes, Hermione sighed dejectedly. Part of her had hoped that Harry could use his Parseltounge abilities to talk to the snakes and they could be rounded up peacefully. But these snakes were born in the wild before being captured. Now they were suddenly thrown back into the wild where instinct took over. But thinking of Harry as he was lying in the hospital wing, Hermione leaned back in her chair. Looking at the books she'd found, she wanted more. She wanted to know what _types_ of venoms these snakes had, what their temperaments were like…

"Hermione."

Hearing her name suddenly, Hermione jumped out of her chair, looking around and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Ginny Weasley. "Ginny," Hermione said, quietly. "You startled me."

"I think we're all on edge because of the snakes," Ginny replied, unable to repress a shiver at the thought. "I know I've been having nightmares lately." Sitting across from Hermione, she said, "I think I actually prefer Dementors."

Hermione smiled at that and neatly stacked her notes and books before putting them away in her bag. "Have you seen Harry yet?"

Ginny seemed reluctant as she shook her head. "Fred and George are with him."

Hermione eyed the youngest Weasley before asking, "Ginny, are you afraid of seeing Harry?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know. It's just… weird," Ginny admitted.

"What's weird?" Hermione asked as she stood up. As she and Ginny started out of the library, Hermione frowned a bit. "It's not like Harry's really any different." Shouldering her bag a little higher, she led Ginny to the hospital wing and opened the door. "Ginny," Hermione said with an encouraging look. "Come on."

Ginny was hesitant but after a few moments, she followed Hermione over to Harry who seemed to be in good spirits as he laughed with Fred and George. Sitting up in his bed, Harry didn't seem to be too bothered by the loss of his legs.

"Hey, Ginny," Harry said, giving her a smile.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny said, quietly. Seeing that Harry was eyeing her, she said, "So… How are you?"

Harry shrugged. "Alright… I suppose. Madame Pomfrey said the healers would be arriving this afternoon, so…" When Harry saw Ginny backing away, he said, "Ginny, its okay. I know it's strange but it'll be fine."

"Fine?" Ginny repeated. "You're missing both legs. That's not fine."

"Once they fit me for the prosthetics it'll be better," Harry said, unsure of why Ginny was freaking out.

"Look, I-I-I don't need to know the details, alright?" Ginny said, heading for the door.

"Ginny!" George said as he turned to follow Ginny as she left the room. "Hang on a moment!"

Harry sighed and looked at Hermione and Fred gave him a look. He didn't know what to say and decided to let Fred or Hermione say something first.

"You're not the only one who needs to adjust to this," Hermione said, quietly. After a moment, she asked, "Harry… what exactly were you talking about the other day?"

"Er… what do you mean?" Harry asked, trying to dodge the question.

Harry tried looking to Fred Weasley to provide and out, but the other Weasley twin stood from his seat by the bed. "I think I'll go catch up with George and Ginny."

When Harry and Hermione were alone, Hermione fixed Harry with a look. "Well?"

Harry leaned back against the pillows behind him and sighed deeply. "When I was in hospital this summer," he said, slowly. "The doctors kept reminding me I was lucky I wasn't hurt worse. I'd be in pain for a while and it would be about 6 months before I'd be walking on my own again… But I'd be okay. No permanent damage." Looking down at the stumps that had been his legs, he said, "But because of that potion… What was in it, by the way?"

Hermione sighed. "Samples of snake venom, acidic compounds… something that seemed to be like pure lye. Snape hasn't been able to identify all the components. But," she added with a smirk. "Crabbe and Goyle are strictly remedial potions students until further notice."

"They shouldn't be in Potions class in the first place," Malfoy snapped, angrily.

Looking over at their fellow student, Harry and Hermione seemed confused that Malfoy was actually talking to them. "How's the arm?" Harry asked, tentatively.

Malfoy shrugged. "Feels weird. Like it's there, but not." Looking at Harry, he asked, "You have the same sensation in you legs?"

Harry nodded. "What's left of them, anyway," he replied, looking at the stumps.

Malfoy sighed before sitting up and throwing back his blankets. It took a moment to get out of bed, but once he was up, he slowly walked towards Harry and Hermione. "Dumbledore told me my father's furious at what happened."

"Surprised you're not trying to pin this on Dumbledore," Harry said, shortly. "What did you do to provoke the snake, anyway?"

Malfoy scoffed as he sat on the bed next to Harry's. "Sprout asked me to put the flower pot on the table. Snake snapped at me, I dropped it. Then the bloody reptile bit me."

"Ahh, good," Pomfrey said as she came in from her office. Looking at Harry and Malfoy, she said, "Healers Radcliffe and Thomas just arrived in Dumbledore's office. They'll be here in a few moments."

"Hermione, could you stay?" Harry asked, quickly. "If you don't mind."

Hermione hesitated for a moment but nodded before taking Harry's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Flicking a glance at Malfoy, Hermione saw that the Slytherin student looked almost… jealous at the gesture.

When the two healers arrived, Hermione sat on the other side of Harry and watched as Thomas removed the bandages on Malfoy's stump.

"Pay attention, Mr. Potter," Radcliffe said as he pulled Malfoy's prosthetic out of a case along with a silicone liner. "You'll put your prosthetics on pretty much the same way."

Harry nodded as he watched Radcliffe fit the liner, which had a small peg at the end, on first and then guided what remained of Malfoy's arm into the prosthetic until it clicked into place. "There are charms in place to help read signals from the brain," Radcliffe explained. "To help when you're using the arm—holding objects, picking things up, and the like. You won't be able to write with the prosthetic, however, so you need to work on writing with your left hand."

Malfoy gave a curt nod and watched the artificial limb as he started to move the arm and the fingers and thumb. "What about Quidditch?" he asked, looking at the healers.

"What position do you play?" Thomas asked as he pulled Harry's new legs out of the case.

"Seeker," Harry and Malfoy replied, simultaneously.

Thomas thought for a moment before replying. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, for the time being, you won't be able to play. We'll work with you and hopefully next term you'll be back to playing, although you'll have to learn to catch with your left hand." Turning to Harry, he said, "I'll show you how to perform a securing charm on your prosthetics. That will ensure your new legs stay on when you're in the air."

Harry took a deep breath as Healer Radcliffe helped him put the new leg prosthetics on. "Same sort of charm on these as Malfoy's?" Harry asked, tentatively.

Radcliffe nodded as he pulled out a pair of elbow crutches before he and Thomas helped Harry to his feet. "It'll be a few months before you get the hang of walking."

Harry nodded as he stood, letting himself get used to balancing on the new legs. Seeing that the healers weren't going to let go of him until he felt steady, Harry said, "I think I'm okay."

Thomas nodded and handed Harry the crutches, showing the teenager how to use them first. Once Harry had his arms through the rings at the tops, and had a firm grip on the handles, Thomas asked, "Ready to try a few steps?"

Harry nodded but he felt a bit uneasy. "Er… what's the best way to…?"

"Just like I showed you," Thomas replied, patiently. "It's just like you're walking. Right, left. Right, left."

Harry took a deep breath and moved the right crutch forward a bit along with his right leg before moving his left leg forward. "It's weird."

"It'll be less weird once you get the knack of it," Radcliffe reassured him. "Just keep working at it, but go slow. Don't push yourself."

"Right," Harry said, quietly as he walked around the room.

"I mean it," Radcliffe repeated, firmly when Harry paused. "You may not be in any pain right now, and I know it's easy sometimes to try and push through, but right now, pain is your body's way of saying 'stop'. You've got to promise me you'll listen, alright?"

"Promise," Harry replied, honestly. After another few minutes, he sat down on his bed, breathing a little heavier than before.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, worry in her voice.

"A little tired," Harry shrugged.

"Ahhh, sorry, mate," Radcliffe said with a twinkle in his eye. "No rest for the weary. Cone on. Up you get."

After watching Harry walking around the room for a while Malfoy looked at his new arm. There was a part of him—a rather large part, actually—that was rather pissed that he'd lost his arm to a _snake_! The emblem of Slytherin House had permanently crippled him! It was entirely unfair! He'd never have the dexterity with the prosthetic that he'd had with _his_ arm.

And yet… Looking at Harry, some small part of Malfoy knew that losing _part_ of an arm wasn't as bad as losing both legs. Harry wouldn't be able to walk on his own for months, and if Madame Pomfrey let him, Malfoy could dash out of the hospital wing. Looking down at his right arm again—for the first time that he could remember—Malfoy hated his life. Being a Malfoy didn't stop him from being bitten, didn't stop his from losing his arm. He'd have to work just as hard as anyone else to regain function.

----

That night, lying in his bed in the hospital wing, Harry couldn't sleep. Sitting up in bed, he pulled his glasses on and looked over at Malfoy who didn't seem able to sleep either. Sitting up in his own bed, Malfoy was staring at the wall and seemed bothered by something.

"Can't sleep, either, Potter?" Malfoy asked, quietly, not looking at Harry.

"No," Harry replied, simply. "I want to get out of here. Sleep in my own bed."

Malfoy snorted in agreement before saying, "Pomfrey told me she wanted to keep me here another couple days to make sure what's left of my arm is functioning." Leaning back against his pillows, he added, "Never imagined the two of us would ever have something in common."

"You mean both of us being amputees?" Harry replied with a derisive laugh. "At least you can walk on your own."

"And you still have full function of both arms," Malfoy countered with a smile. "As the saying goes 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the road'."

"Pond," Harry corrected as he lay back down again. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "So who do you reckon will get bitten next?"

"Bloody hell," Malfoy said, sitting up again and looking at Harry. "What are you thinking? Start a pool on who's the next person to land in here with us?"

Shrugging, Harry also sat up again. "Beats lying around, right?"

Malfoy laughed at that. "Point taken."

----------

The next day as Harry put on his prosthetics, he wondered if Madame Pomfrey would let him out of the hospital wing for a few hours. He wanted to see his friends and go to the library to do some research for the Potions essay Snape had assigned. But as he started to try and pull his pants on, he heard the Hogwarts nurse shout his name.

"Potter!" Pomfrey said sharply as she came towards him. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Getting dressed?" Harry said as if it was an obscure concept. "So I can go to the library."

"Potter, you've only just started to learn how to walk again," Pomfrey admonished, sternly.

"I'll go with him," Malfoy volunteered, hopping out of bed.

Pomfrey gave Malfoy a long look. The fact that Malfoy was volunteering to help Harry of his own free will made her uneasy but she could also see how restless both boys were. "I want both of you back here by 3pm. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Harry replied, sliding his arms through the rings of the crutches as Malfoy started to get dressed after putting his arm on.

Once outside the room, Malfoy eyed Harry. "Were you _really_ planning on going to the library?"

Harry shrugged. "I still have homework."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You are finally free for the hospital wing for a couple hours and you're going to use the time to study?" he asked, surprised and yet not surprised. "You've been hanging around Granger for too long."

Rolling his eyes, Harry asked, "And your suggestion is…?"

"Broom ride," Malfoy replied, grinning.

-------

It had taken almost an hour for Harry to get down the stairs and into the Entrance Hall but once he and Malfoy were outside Harry took in a deep breath of warm fall air. After being cooped up in the hospital wing for almost a week, Harry couldn't get enough fresh air and the sun shining down on him was rejuvenating. Next to him, Malfoy had his eyes closed and his face turned up, taking in the sunshine as well.

After a few moments, the two headed to the Quidditch pitch and retrieved their brooms from the shed just outside the pitch. Walking to the middle of the empty pitch, Harry clambered onto his broom and Malfoy mounted his own broom. Pushing off, Harry zoomed into the air, feeling freer that he'd felt in a long time. The air was chilly as it whipped by him and he slowed down a bit as Malfoy blasted past. Stopping in mid air, Harry could faintly see something moving below the stands through the spaces between the bleacher seats. "Malfoy!"

Malfoy stopped and flew to the stands where Harry was pointing. Dismounting his broom, Malfoy got down on his hands and knees and looked below the stands. Leaning back, he looked at Harry. "It's a snake. About 17 feet." Harry thought for a moment, scenarios and options running through his mind. They had to capture the snake but looking at Malfoy, Harry knew that they had to be careful. "Got a plan, Potter?" Malfoy asked, impatiently.

"Go get Dumbledore," Harry said, quickly as he watched for the snake to move. Hovering in the air, Harry started to think about the current problem of how to get the snake out and also how to contain it. But as Malfoy flew off towards the castle, Harry dipped lower as the snake started to slither out of the stands and onto the pitch. Dark brown with pale yellow striping, the snake was beautiful as it came out into the open. But as Harry dipped just a little lower—still staying well out of the snake's biting range—the snake reared up so that it was standing a good 5 feet off the ground as the hood around its neck spread.

Harry's heart started pounding as he stared at the king cobra for what felt like near an hour. After a while, Harry licked his lips, he decided to try Parseltounge. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"_Human!"_ the snake hissed angrily as it growled. _"You capture us! Take us from our homes! Lock us away in cages. And you claim you will not hurt us! You steal our venom and use it against us!"_

"And we're wrong to do that," Harry admitted. If these snakes were wild, then that would likely explain why they were so aggressive. "We don't want you to hurt us. So we remove you from our areas."

"_The land is ours, human!"_ the snake growled again. _"You have no right to our land and our homes."_

"Would you rather we kill you?" Harry said, trying to listen for the sounds of someone coming. "Destroy you and your family?"

"_We want to be left alone!" _the snake said, angrily.

"Don't move," said a male voice behind Harry.

"No problem," Harry replied, not even looking to see who had spoken. The cobra lowered itself only a few inches but it was now hissing angrily. "You might want to be careful. He's really pissed off right now."

"Harry is a Parselmouth," came Dumbledore's voice.

"Son, I'm Greg Hindle," the other man said as he walked under Harry's broom and around the cobra so that he was facing the back of the snake. Dr. Hindle held a pair of snake tongs in one hand and in the other, he held a snake sack. Very quietly and slowly, he said, "I need you to stay where you are… don't move. Just keep the snake focused on you."

Harry nodded and said in Parseltounge, "Tell me about your home."

"_I live in India,"_ the snake replied. _"I have a mate, Bahadra. She is carrying out babies."_

"Congratulations," Harry said, watching as, very carefully, Dr. Hindle managed to grab the cobra behind the head as Dumbledore charmed the bag to open on its own.

Once the snake was captured, Harry let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Well done, lad," Hindle said to Harry as he knotted the top of the bag. "Well done, indeed."

"Thanks," Harry said, said, nodding as his heart-rate started to return to normal.

"Now, Harry," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "I suggest we get you back to the hospital wing before Poppy finds out what you've been up to out here."

Harry nodded and, still on his broom, followed the headmaster back up to the castle.


	4. Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTES: While basic information on the snakes in this story is easy to come by (Thank you, Google) there are a few things I had to fudge.

In this chapter, Hermione is the next snake victim and next chapter, baby anacondas cause a lot of chaos and panic.

Chapter 4

* * *

The castle and grounds were dark when the anaconda found the tunnel on the far side of the castle, away from the lake. She could smell another snake although the scent was weak and there was also a smell of decay as though the snake that lived there before had died long ago. Slowly venturing into the tunnel, the anaconda left the outside world, traveling through stone tunnels and metal piping until finally coming into a large stone room. Torches blazed around the room and gave off just enough warmth. Here would be a safe place for the birth of her babies. In a few weeks, her offspring would emerge and strike out on their own.

----------------

While the anaconda found its new home deep in the Chamber of Secrets, the Western Diamondback and the Russell's viper settled themselves into one of the greenhouses. This land was strange and there were far too many humans but so far the humans seemed to be avoiding the snakes. Inside the greenhouses it was warm and there were plenty of places to hide. As long as the humans maintained their distance, the snakes would not strike.

The Rinkhals cobra had been wary of the humans and preferred a nice, safe hole underneath a stone structure a fair bit away from the castle. There were the scents of rat and corn snakes but they had been long gone.

But the black mamba preferred a much safer temporary home in the branches of the Whomping Willow. The weather would be colder soon, but for now, the mamba felt safe. The humans avoided this tree and the mamba felt that was a sure sign that this was a safe place.

----------------

October came bringing unseasonably warm weather.

Harry and Draco both returned to their classes and while they were by no means friends, they were at least civil to one another. Their similar experiences seemed to inspire the former rivals to forge a truce. Draco wasn't as harsh towards the Weasleys, Hermione, or Harry; and Harry included Draco during Quidditch practice sessions.

Even the other houses felt a strange sense of camaraderie and there was far more intermingling between the students than there had been in years.

It seemed that the snakes in the castle were uniting Hogwarts in a way that no supernatural force had ever been able to.

----------

On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon a few days before Halloween, Hermione sat outside by the forest reading one of the many books on venomous snakes she'd borrowed from Dr. Hindle. After the capture of the king cobra, she'd wanted to study the snakes as much as possible.

Yesterday, Hermione had gone with Snape and Dumbledore to Hindle's estate and while Dumbledore and Snape spoke with Hindle's son, Dr. Hindle gave Hermione a tour of the reptiles in his collection. "What's the deadliest snake?" Hermione asked, curiously, as she studied the snakes that the herpatologist had collected.

"The one that just bit you," Hindle replied, stopping by the enclosure which now held the recaptured king cobra. "If you mean specifically… that's harder to say."

"How come?" Hermione asked, looking at the king cobra before turning back to Hindle. "I know different snakes have different venoms, but they can all kill, right?"

"For the most part," Hindle agreed, continuing to lead Hermione through the maze of glass cages and enclosures. "But some venoms are more potent than others." Stopping by one of the enclosures, he explained. "As I'm sure you're aware from your friends' injuries, some types of venom can destroy tissue while others block signals from the nerves." Leading Hermione to a backroom lab, Hindle pulled a vial of blood from a cooler along with a smaller vial of a very viscous, clear liquid. "I collected a sample of venom from an Inland Taipan from Australia," he said, indicating the clear substance. After adding a very small amount of venom to the vial of blood, he shook the vial to evenly distribute the venom.

As Hermione watched, she saw the blood start to separate and clot. Looking horrified, she said, "Incredible."

"This venom is the most toxic," Hindle replied after putting the venom back in the cooler and disposing of the blood vial. "In about 10 minutes it can cause massive clots in the body. But other venoms, like that of the Russell's viper or the Western Diamondback rattlesnake destroy blood and tissue."

Hermione nodded, making mental notes. "What about the Rinkhals cobra?"

Hindle smiled a bit as he led Hermione back out to the snakes. Stopping at a cage, he said, "This is a Mozambique Spitting Cobra. Its bite delivers a tissue destroying venom but it can also spit venom at any attackers."

Hermione looked curious and after a moment, she asked, "How can a snake spit venom?"

Hindle hesitated for a moment but after a while, he grabbed a pair of snake tongs and motioned for Hermione to step back as he opened the door of the cage. "There are two pairs of protective goggles behind you." After quickly donning eye protection, Hindle grabbed the snake behind the head with the tongs before grabbing the tail of the snake with his other hand. "If he starts attacking, back away quickly," Hindle warned. Hermione nodded and just as a precaution, drew her wand.

Hermione watched at Hindle lowered the snake to the ground, keeping an eye on it. Suddenly, the snake spun around and spit at her. Hermione jumped back, surprised to see venom on the outside of the goggles. But when she realized that there was something wet on her face, she started to panic.

"Don't worry," Hindle reassured her as he put the snake back in her cage. "The venom isn't harmful if it's on your skin unless you have a cut or open sore." After Hermione washed her face at the sink nearby, he said, "Rinkhals venom in the eyes hurts like Hell and can cause blindness if not washed out quickly."

"Antivenom doesn't work if the venom gets in the eyes?" Hermione asked as she and Dr. Hindle went to rejoin Hindle's son, Damon, Snape and Dumbledore.

"Regretfully, no," Hindle replied. "Only for actual injections of venom. Best to get the venom washed out with clean water as fast as possible. And," Hindle warned. "The more venom a person gets in their eyes, the worse the damage can be."

--

Hermione was startled from her thoughts when she heard a strange pained whining sound coming from the entrance to the Forbidden Forest. Getting to her feet and leaving her book bag by the boulder she'd been leaning up against, Hermione withdrew her wand and started towards the sound, stopping when she saw a thestral staggering around blindly. Lowering her wand the slightest bit, Hermione ignored her first instinct which was to go and find help and rather started further into the forest, eyes peeled for any signs of movement in the brush.

Walking down the path, Hermione froze when she heard something in the bushes and before she could raise her wand, she felt something liquidous hit her in the face. It was a split second before her eyes started burning and tearing heavily and as Hermione blinked, hoping that her own tears would help dilute the venom from the spitting cobra, the snake spat again, hitting Hermione again, this time full in the eyes.

Staggering back as her eyes continued to burn, Hermione tripped on a tree root, falling backwards and hitting her head on the hard ground. Before the finally lost consciousness, the last blurry image she saw was the spitting cobra firing one more time.

-------------

It was the insistent and urgent barking from Fang that made Hagrid turn from his garden where he'd been picking a few more pumpkins for the Halloween Feast. Looking at the forest, Hagrid called, "Fang! Come on in now!" But the dog refused to come. When Fang let out a loud howl, Hagrid headed down to the forest, following the sound of the aging boarhound.

"Fang?" Hagrid called as he stood at the edge of the woods. When he heard whining and more howling, Hagrid started into the forest, hurrying when he saw Hermione lying unconscious on the ground. Picking the teenager up, Hagrid noticed that her eyes were very red and very swollen. And although her head wasn't bleeding, there did seem to be a large, nasty bump forming. Hurrying up to the castle, Hagrid met Dumbledore in the Entrance Hall. "Hermione's been attacked. It didn't look like she was bitten, but…"

Dumbledore nodded quickly and conjured a stretcher and instructed Hagrid to lay down the unconscious student.

-

Up in the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey looked worried as she examined Hermione.

"Poppy?" Dumbledore asked, concerned. "Will Miss Granger be alright?"

"How long was she out?" Poppy asked, quickly, putting drops on a potion in Hermione's eyes before using her wand to cover them with bandages. When neither Dumbledore nor Hagrid replied, Poppy looked annoyed. "She has a serious brain injury! How long was Miss Granger unconscious?"

"Hermione went down by the woods to read after lunch," Hagrid said, thinking back. "Several hours ago… maybe more."

"How serious are we talking about?" Dumbledore asked, as Madame Pomfrey began working on Hermione.

But Pomfrey wasn't listening as she tried to take care of Hermione. After almost an hour, she looked up at Dumbledore who was still standing there, looking both concerned and curious. "Albus… If Miss Granger doesn't wake up in 48 hours, you'll have to contact her parents."

"How bad is it?" Dumbledore asked, gravely.

Pomfrey sighed as she got Hermione settled and pulled the curtains around the bed. "No skull fracture, but she has a severe concussion to the occipital lobe of her brain. Between the head injury and the snake venom…" Looking at Hermione, she added, "We'll have to wait for her to wake up before we'll know if there's any permanent injury."

-------------------

Standing next to Hermione's bed the following morning, Harry felt a surge of anger towards the snake that had attacked Hermione. Madame Pomfrey hadn't been able to wake Hermione up and even with the potions drops Hermione's eyes were still red and swollen.

The snakes had now proven that they were a force to be reckoned with and even though there was the slightest sense of relief when the Rinkhals cobra and the black mamba were finally captured, that still left a rattlesnake, a viper and an anaconda to be dealt with.

As Harry's mind turned to the snakes, he felt like he was suddenly daydreaming. He let himself be absorbed into the feeling and suddenly he felt like he was a great serpent, sleek and powerful, curving through hidden tunnels. Coming into an open area, Harry could feel the presence of another snake. Hissing, he tried to speak to the beast, but it was twice his size. He reared up, bearing his fangs, but the larger snake wasn't afraid as it struck, throwing massive coils around it's prey.

"Potter!"

Harry felt hands on him and he looked wildly around. Pomfrey was helping him to his feet and over to one of the beds. Lying down, Harry's breathing was a bit labored and he put a hand to his ribs. It had truly felt as though he was being crushed to death by a giant snake. "Wha—"

"Easy, Potter," Pomfrey said, gently, as Harry sat up, his legs over the edge of the bed.

"I saw Voldemort's snake," Harry said, trying to make sense of the vision. "The anaconda… It's in the Chamber of Secrets. It killed Voldemort's snake." Before Harry could say anything more about his vision, his eyes rolled up and he fell forward onto the floor, landing in a heap at Madame Pomfrey's feet.


	5. Chapter 5

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm not quite sure who the next snakebite victim is going to be. So in the meantime I figured I'd post this.

Chapter 5

* * *

When Hermione started to come to, she wondered why her eyes and her head hurt. Everything was pitch black and she could hear voices but she just couldn't seem to focus. Someone took her hand and she heard someone say her name.

"Hermione? It's Mum."

"Mum?" Hermione murmured. "Where are you? I can't…" Hermione stopped talking as the voices grew a bit louder and more distinctive. After what felt like hours, she was able to discern her parents' voices along with Harry, Ron, and most strangely, Draco Malfoy.

"Welcome back, Granger," Draco said, sounding just the slightest bit relieved.

Hermione's mother, Ashley, helped her daughter sit up a bit as she said, "We've been so worried. You were out for almost 3 days. We'd just arrived when the headmaster told us it looked like you were waking up."

"What happened?" Hermione asked. Raising a hand to her face, she touched the bandages across her eyes. "Mum, what…?"

"You were attacked," Harry replied, simply. "The spitting cobra. It shot a fair amount of venom in your eyes. Then you fell and hit your head."

Hermione breathing quickened and she squeezed her mother's hand. "How bad?" Hermione wanted to know. She knew about the snake venom and she'd read enough of her parents' medical texts to know about brain injuries.

"Hermione, you need to relax," Ashley said, calmly. After a moment, she removed her daughter's bandages and stifled a small gasp. Hermione's brown eyes were slightly cloudy and around them, the skin was still red and irritated. Dreading the answer, she asked, "What do you see?"

Harry noticed how still Hermione was and he could see the fear in her eyes as she said, "Nothing. I can't see!" Grabbing her mother's hand, Hermione started to cry. "I can't see!"

Limping over to Hermione's bed, Harry sat down next to his best friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, it'll be okay."

"Harry's right, darling," Ashley said, soothingly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's a chance the blindness may not be permanent."

"How am I going to pass my OWLs if I can't see?" Hermione wailed, miserably as she hugged her mother.

There was a snort of laughter and Harry turned to see Ron trying not to laugh out loud. Next to Ron, Draco Malfoy looked ever so slightly amused as he said, "You're going to do what you usually do, Granger."

Hermione sniffled and turned her head towards the sound of Malfoy's voice. "What?"

Draco took a few steps towards Hermione and said, "Study. May take you a few months to learn Braille, but after that I'm sure you'll be back in the library studying."

Ashley nodded. "He's right, Hermione. Even if this is a temporary condition, you still need to deal with it."

"Don't," Hermione said, angrily, when she heard Harry start to agree. Sniffling, she said, "This isn't like getting a leg chopped off, Harry! I can't see, I can't read…"

"No, it's not," Harry agreed. "And I know that I'm eventually going to be fine. But so will you."

But Hermione was having none of it. After a moment, she threw back the blankets on the bed and when she felt Harry get up, she got up as well. "Where are my clothes?" Hermione asked, feeling in the drawers of the bedside dresser. Pulling out her clothes, she felt around for the curtains and pulled them around before starting to sort out her shirt, jeans, robes, and shoes.

Hermione's father, Thomas Granger, pulled his wife away from Hermione's bed and gave his wife a stern look. "What are you doing? We can't just let our daughter go off like this."

"If you want to tell her that, Thomas, be my guest," Ashley said, quietly. "But you know bloody well that our Hermione is a proud, stubborn girl. She needs to accept this before we can do anything to help her."

Thomas paced a bit, running a hand through his hair. "What do we do, Ash?"

But before Ashley could reply, they heard a crash behind them and turned to see Harry and Hermione on the floor. "Are you alright?" Ashley asked, helping her daughter to her feet while Thomas helped Harry.

"Fine!" Hermione said, angrily, her empty eyes still shining with tears.

"No, you're not fine, Granger," Malfoy said, firmly as he slowly approached her. When Hermione started crying again, he gently took her arm and led her back to her bed. Once she was seated, Malfoy said, "Now… I know how obstinate you can be but you're going to have to snap out of it. If I have to accept help, so do you."

When Hermione finally nodded, Malfoy gave a nod in return. "Right, then."

"Mum?" Hermione said, reaching out a hand. When she felt her mother's hand, she asked, "Can you help me to the Great Hall?"

Exchanging nervous looks with her husband, Ashley said, "I'm sure if you're hungry Madame Pomfrey can—"

"I-I want to get out of here," Hermione insisted, standing again and holding onto her mother's hand. "I want to leave, alright?"

"Alright," Ashley said, calmly, as she led Hermione out of the room, Thomas behind them and Ron picking up the rear.

But as Harry started to follow as well, Malfoy stopped him. "Hold on, Potter."

"What for?" Harry asked, puzzled. "And since when do you care about Hermione?"

Malfoy sighed and finally pulled Harry out of the room and to a quiet alcove. "Since I know a little something about being blind."

Harry stood, dumbfounded, and after a few moments, he said, "What?"

"You may or may not have noticed," Malfoy said, Harry's confusion hardly a surprise. "But my parents have _blue_ eyes."

Harry nodded and when he noticed Malfoy's eyes, he did notice that their color was gray. "What happened?" Harry wanted to know.

"It happened when I was two," Malfoy replied, quietly. "Eventually, Snape managed to cure the blindness… For the most part."

"What do you mean?" Harry wanted to know. How had he never known that Malfoy had once been blind?

"My night-vision is almost nonexistent," Malfoy replied, as he started down the hall.

"So… how can I help Hermione?" Harry asked as he limped after Malfoy.

"Treat her as normally as possible," Malfoy said, simply. "Ask her if she wants help. Don't just jump in." As they reached the Great Hall, he added, "Granger's right. Being blind is nothing like losing an arm or your legs. You can learn to adapt without a limb. Being blind is almost a lifestyle. You have to change almost every habit and learn entirely new ways of doing the most basic of tasks."

"I don't think I really like snakes anymore," Harry admitted as Malfoy opened the door to the Great Hall.

"Oh, we're not all bad," Malfoy said with a smirk as he sat at the Slytherin table and Harry went to join Hermione for lunch.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

Over the next several weeks, as the cloudy November skies grew white with impending snow, Hermione became withdrawn, mostly keeping to herself except when she and Malfoy worked on Braille and navigating the castle.

On a cold, Saturday afternoon after a flying session with Harry and Oliver Wood, Malfoy was heading up to the library when he heard sobbing coming from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. After checking that the coast was clear, Malfoy ducked inside and found Hermione leaning against one of the sinks, crying. A long, white cane was lying across the sinks and Myrtle was floating nearby.

"Go away," Hermione sobbed as she sank to the floor, leaning against the piping under the sink. "Just leave me alone."

But Malfoy didn't leave. Instead, he sat on the floor next to Hermione. "What happened?" When Hermione didn't reply, Malfoy sighed. "I suppose you remember 1st year when we were out in the Forbidden Forest?" Malfoy said, looking at Hermione.

"What about it?" Hermione sniffed, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her sweater.

"You remember how reluctant I was to go out at night?" Malfoy went on.

Hermione nodded. "Even when we were trying to get that dragon out, you…" Frowning slightly, she said, "You were standing next to one of the torches."

"I can barely see at night," Malfoy replied. "Just faint shadows. Even in low light I just see outlines." Seeing that Hermione listening with rapt attention, he went on. "I've gotten used to the night-blindness. But that doesn't mean it's not a problem." Getting to his feet, Malfoy held out a hand. "Let me help you."

"Why are you being so bloody nice?" Hermione said, feeling for Malfoy's hand. When she found it, she felt herself pulled to her feet. "You hate mudbloods."

Malfoy didn't reply right away. A few years ago he wouldn't even be here. He wouldn't have cared if the snake venom had killed Hermione Granger. But the past few months had certainly knocked him off his high horse and losing his arm had reinforced the fact that being a pureblood and a Malfoy did _not_ mean he was invincible.

But seeing Hermione's predicament, the visual pain in her sightless eyes at having her life torn apart… Malfoy didn't like it one bit. He wanted to see the hunger in her eyes that he saw when she was in the library, studying madly. Her first year at Hogwarts she probably knew more than some 3rd years. But there was also a sparkle in Hermione's eyes. A twinkle of happiness when she was with her friends. Remembering 3rd year when Hermione had her wand pressed to his neck, Malfoy recalled vividly the fire that was in Hermione's eyes. Her hand was steady and she was as calm and collected as he'd ever seen her.

Even more than her eyes, it was that fire that drew Malfoy to Hermione. He often found himself provoking her to see that blaze in her eyes, wondering what she would do to him if given half a chance.

But Malfoy couldn't tell Hermione Granger that for all his blustering about mudbloods he'd ended up being obsessed with a muggleborn Gryffindor who was just as smart—if not smarter—than any pureblood.

Handing Hermione her cane and loping her arm through his as they left the bathroom, Malfoy just said, quietly, "Maybe I just enjoy your company."

Out in the hallway, Hermione stopped, frowning. "You think I'm stupid?"

"No," Malfoy replied, quickly. "Far from." He wanted to take a few steps away from Hermione when he saw her tighten her grip on the cane.

"You harassed me, Harry, and the Weasleys for years," Hermione said, evenly. "Now you're suddenly saying that you 'enjoy my company'?" Speaking very clearly, she asked again, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Preparing himself for the attack that would be coming, Malfoy replied, "Yes." When Hermione swung the cane at him, Malfoy gently but firmly grabbed her arm, moving so that her arm was twisted behind her back. After grabbing her other arm in case she tried to go for her wand, Malfoy bent his head and whispered in Hermione ear, "If you think that I haven't been trying to distance myself from you… To hide how I really feel about you… you're not as smart as you think you are." Releasing Hermione, Malfoy again took Hermione's arm, leading her to the library.

----------------

When the first snows started falling and the temperatures dropped, Professor Sprout felt it safe to once again resume Herbology classes in the greenhouses. Surely by now even the most cold-tolerant snakes were bedded down for a long hibernation.

As Sprout worked on cleaning the first greenhouse, she gave a start when the door opened and Neville Longbottom came in followed by Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. "What brings the three of you out here this snowy morning?" Sprout asked as the three students stomped snow off their boots.

"Extra credit, right?" Ginny said as she hung her cloak and scarf.

Sprout looked surprised as Neville and Luna started cleaning the tables and equipment. She'd posted the extra credit notice in all the House Common Rooms but when the snow started, she doubted anyone would actually show up, especially considering the threat of snakes. "Very well, then," she said, looking at the three. "15 House points and 25 extra credit points?"

"That would be lovely," Luna said, her dreamy voice cheery as she started moving some of the potted plants to help Ginny sweep the corners of the room.

Neville bent to help Luna lift one of the heavier pots and froze when he heard a buzzing rattle. Looking in the corner, he gave a startled, pained gasp as the diamondback rattlesnake struck out and bit him on the side of the knee. Falling backwards and dropping the pot, Neville saw Ginny frozen in fear near the snake which had turned towards teenage girl. Despite the burning pain spreading up and down his left leg, Neville slowly got to his feet and just as the snake was about to strike, he pulled her away, feeling the snake bite his upper leg.

Levitating an overturned flower pot, Sprout secured the snake just as Neville cried out. Whirling around, she saw another snake in the other corner. After covering the snake with a second flower pot, Sprout told Luna to get Ginny out of the greenhouse while Spout helped Neville to his feet. Once outside, Neville started breathing heavier and the Herbology professor conjured a stretcher for Neville who passed out as they headed back up to the castle.

----

A few tense hours later, Harry stood next to Neville's bed in the hospital wing. Neville's leg was bandaged and swollen but his color was good and he was breathing better as he sat upright in bed.

Across from Neville, Ginny was in one of the other beds, unconscious. After summoning Snape to give Neville the needed dosage of the newest antivenoms, Pomfrey took a quick moment to assess Ginny. After quickly treating Ginny for shock, Pomfrey turned back to Neville.

"Do you know how bloody lucky you are?" Harry said, looking at Neville.

Looking at Harry who was still leaning on the elbow crutches, Neville nodded. "Yeah," Neville said, quietly. Looking at Ginny whose bed was surrounded by Ron, Fred, and George. "How's Ginny?"

"Unconscious," Harry replied, looking over at Ginny. "But Madame Pomfrey says she'll be fine."

"She just… stood there," Neville said, quietly.

"You saved her, Neville," Harry said, looking at his friend with a smile. "You're not after my job as Hogwarts' hero, are you?"

"Hero?" Neville said, dubiously. "I-I'm not a… I mean that wasn't really..." Neville stopped stammering when Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore came in to the room.

"How are you feeling, Longbottom?" McGonagall asked, looking at Neville with concern.

"Fine," Neville replied, timidly.

"Well, that's a relief," McGonagall said, quickly. "As soon as Fred and George Weasley found out about their sister they contacted Molly who sent a Floo message to your grandmother."

"G-Gran knows about what happened?" Neville said, nervously.

But McGonagall was smiling as she said, "Your grandmother said to say that she's relieved you're alright and she's proud of you."

"She's… she's proud of me?" Neville said, surprised.

"Rest up, Mr. Longbottom," McGonagall, as she studied Neville. The boy had seemed quiet and timid when he'd first come to Hogwarts and McGonagall had been surprised when he'd gone into Gryffindor. But now… McGonagall mentally shook her head in disbelief. Maybe the Sorting Hat really _did_ know something no one else did. Rumor had it that Dumbledore actually had long conversations with the Sorting Hat late at night. Before she turned to leave the room, McGonagall said to Neville, "150 points to Gryffindor for bravery in the face of extreme danger."

After McGonagall left, Harry grinned at Neville. "Good going, hero."

But instead of smiling back, Neville looked like he was about to be sick.

* * *

In the depths of the Chamber of Secrets, the anaconda watched her babies slithering away, into the water around the cool stone or towards the open chambers towards the drains and pipes. They would learn to survive on their own and perhaps, someday, grow to raise their own young.

Provided the humans didn't capture or kill them first.


	7. Chapter 7

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hadn't originally intended to pair Hermione and Malfoy, but eh.... Sometimes my muse just does whatever the heck it feels like.

Next chapter, we finally venture into the Chamber of Secrets and if you REALLY don't like snakes, be forwarned, it won't be pretty.

Chapter 7

* * *

The first Saturday of the winter holidays, Malfoy rose early and after nearly half an hour, he managed to get his prosthetic arm on and get dressed. Grabbing his winter cloak and tossing it over his shoulder, he headed out of the Slytherin dormitory and headed up to Gryffindor Tower. He hadn't told his parents that he was—for lack of a better term—courting Hermione Granger. Doubtless they would—at the very least—disapprove of the choice. Worst case, his father might do something to Hermione or her family.

Thinking as he took the stairs up to the 7th floor of the castle, Malfoy considered what to do about his feelings for Hermione. Many of the students gave him sly looks when they saw him and Hermione in the library. And even Harry was starting to become suspicious of their Braille tutoring sessions.

When he finally reached the portrait which guarded the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, Malfoy looked at the Fat Lady and sighed before giving the special password Hermione had told him just a few days ago. "Weasley is our king. Weasley is our king. In Quidditch he can do anything. That's why Gryffindor all sing 'Weasley is our king'." Stepping back as the portrait swung forward, Malfoy blushed a bit as he stepped inside the common room and found himself facing Harry Potter—who was now using a cane rather than the crutches—and almost the entire Weasley family. "Something wrong?" Malfoy asked, hesitantly.

"We just want to know what your intentions are towards Hermione," Bill Weasley said, calmly.

"Er…" Malfoy was at a loss for words as he looked at the assembled group. "I-Intentions regarding…?"

"Don't play stupid," Ginny warned. Her brown eyes were narrowed and she had her hands on her hips. Seeing the look on the youngest Weasley's face, Malfoy started to wonder where her wand was.

"We know you and Hermione are doing more than just studying," Ron said, coolly.

"And we know you fancy Hermione," Harry added. Seeing Malfoy's expression, he grinned. "Moaning Myrtle told me about you and Hermione in the bathroom a while ago."

Malfoy knew he was cornered and he also knew that there was only one right way to answer. Still, he had to be honest—even if that led to trouble. "I do have feelings for Hermione," Malfoy admitted. Catching the smug grins that were exchanged, he went on. "And I know that she's a muggleborn and my parents would have a fit if they knew. I have been spending more time with Hermione because I miss that fire in her eyes." Thinking about her and when they'd spent time talking in the library, Malfoy felt compelled to add, "And we have just been talking in the library. She's having more trouble than I think you realize dealing with losing her sight. I know how she feels."

"So instead of talking to _us—_her _friends_—she's confiding in you," Ron snapped, irritably.

"Have you ever been blind, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, simply. Studying Ron for a few moments he went on. "How many times have you seen Hermione with her nose in a book? Or working on homework late at night? You thought it was hard learning how to navigate the castle 1st year? Try learning to do it all over again only _this_ time you can't see where you end up when you get lost." After a few moments, he said, "I'm not going to hurt Hermione. And before you ask—" he said, seeing Harry start to speak. "No, I don't know what I'm going to do when my father finds out. But I'll deal with it then."

The Weasleys looked at Harry who still stared at Malfoy as he said, "Ginny, go get Hermione. Tell her Malfoy's here." When Ginny had gone upstairs, Harry looked at Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron. "Give me a moment with Malfoy," he said, simply. "I'll catch up with you in Hogsmeade."

When the Weasleys left the room, Harry looked at Malfoy again. "For more than 4 years you've harassed Hermione, called her a 'mudblood' and you never gave a damn about how she felt. You didn't care about her. You made fun of her and constantly put her down for being muggleborn and for being smart." Harry's eyes grew cold as he took a few steps towards Malfoy. "Hermione's father wanted to talk to you. But Ron and I figured you would just be charming and fool him. I'm not charmed, Malfoy. And I'm not a fool. If you do anything to hurt Hermione you won't have to worry about what Daddy will do to you if he finds out." Stepping closer and lowering his voice to a dangerous whisper. "How long do you think you'll last in Azkaban?"

Malfoy nodded and looked up when he heard someone coming down the stairs. Giving a brief nod to Harry, Malfoy stepped around him and offered his good arm to Hermione who had just reached the floor. "Miss Granger," Malfoy said as he and Hermione left the room and headed down the hallway towards the stairs.

"How was the interrogation?" Hermione asked, holding her cane out in front. When she didn't feel the floor ahead of her, she realized they'd come to the stairs. Transferring the blind cane to her right hand, she felt for the banister and carefully felt for the next step down. Going like that down the numerous staircases took some time but Hermione was slowly getting the hang of it. When she and Malfoy reached the Entrance Hall, she repeated her earlier question.

"The Weasleys are concerned," Malfoy replied as he stopped by the main doors so that both he and Hermione could dawn their cloaks before heading outside into the snowy December weather and walking towards Hogsmeade Village. "And Potter said he'd throw me in Azkaban if I hurt you."

"They're just being protective," Hermione replied, feeling a little embarrassed by her friends having to defend her.

"You don't need to defend them, Hermione," Malfoy replied. "And I'm sure their protectiveness isn't entirely welcome." Looking over at Hermione he asked, "Am I right?"

Hermione didn't reply to that although she did agree. The other night when she was getting ready for bed, Hermione had gotten tired of the other girls constantly asking if she needed help. Sometimes she wished everyone would just leave her alone.

"I guess I'm going to be doing all the talking, eh?" Malfoy said, pulling Hermione from her thoughts.

"What?" Hermione said, hearing people chatting as her boots hit the cobbled stones that made up the main streets of Hogsmeade.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, stopping as his hand went for the door of the Three Broomsticks.

"Just thinking," Hermione said as she heard a door open. She felt Draco put a hand just above the small of her back and guide her through the doorway before closing the door behind him. Stopping just inside the pub, she felt for Draco's arm and moving him around gently so that he was facing her. "Thank you, Malfoy."

"For what?" Malfoy asked as Hermione put a hand on his prosthetic arm. He closed his eyes, imagining that his real arm was still there. To have Hermione Granger touch him so gently was… And then Hermione's hand slowly moved upwards, over the collar of his cloak and sweater, her cold fingers brushing his neck before touching his cheek.

Hermione felt Malfoy's cheek and she took a small step closer, raising her chin as she went to give him a kiss on the cheek. But she felt his head turn as she came closer and she felt his lips on hers.

Malfoy was as startled by the kiss as Hermione was but when she tried to pull away, clearly embarrassed, Malfoy cupped her face in his hands, gazing into those beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that were distant and unseeing, but as Malfoy stared, Hermione's eyes seemed to find his face. Leaning towards her, Malfoy met her lips and this time the kiss was no mere brushing of the lips.

Hermione wasn't sure what to make of the kiss. She wasn't sure of anything, actually. The kiss seemed to last for a while as Malfoy's fingertips lightly brushed her neck as his thumbs caressed her jawline. She could hear her heart pounding as all the other sounds of the pub melted away.

---

Across the pub, Harry watched Malfoy kissing Hermione as he sipped his mug of butterbeer. At first he'd tensed, waiting for Hermione to push Malfoy away but when she didn't, Harry was confused. Hermione was a level-headed, rational person. Why would she kiss Malfoy?

After a few moments, Hermione and Malfoy left the noisy pub, leaving Harry and the Weasleys wondering what was going on.

----------------

Back at the castle, one of the baby anacondas was coming out of one of the pipes into a small pool where two of the 6th years were making out in the water. Suddenly, the girl screamed and jumped out of the water, dripping wet.

The boy turned and laughed as he reached for the small snake. "Shelly, relax," he chided. "See? It's not even—Bugger it!" As he'd grabbed the snake, it lunged and latched onto his hand with very sharp teeth. After pulling a bit, he swore again. "I can't get it off!" Looking at his girlfriend who was backing away quickly, he shouted, "Help me!"

But Shelly grabbed the towel she'd brought along and hastily wrapped it around her before running screaming from the bathroom.

"Bugger!" the guy shouted again, trying to pull the snake from his hand.

-------

Up in the Owlery, Pigwidgen fluttered to the floor as he saw what looked like a huge worm in a corner. But as soon as Pig got close, a snake lunged and grabbed him by the neck. Powerful coils looped around him, constricting the life out of him. As the anaconda started to swallow its prey, several of its brothers and sisters came into the cold room as more of the owls came in.


	8. Chapter 8

AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's the Return to the Chamber of Secrets! Also, Voldemort croaks and Hermione and Malfoy decide they're better off as friends.

Chapter 8

* * *

As Harry sat at the Gryffindor table for dinner that evening, he looked at Hermione a moment before asking, "Why Malfoy?"

Hermione carefully set her fork down and replied, "I'm not in love with him, Harry."

"You're not?" Harry asked, doubtfully. "Then that was a hell of a kiss earlier."

Hermione's expression turned stony and she simply went back to eating dinner quickly before getting up and hurrying out of the hall. When she reached the staircase, she stopped and slowly sat down, standing up quickly when she heard someone calling her name. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Hermione," Harry said, taking his best friend's hand. After a few moments, he and Hermione sat on the steps again. "I'm sorry," he said, sincerely. "For what I said earlier."

"I don't love Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, quietly. When she heard Harry's slight sigh of relief, she added, "But he is a friend."

"Hermione, after everything he's done…" Harry said, looking at Hermione even though she couldn't look at him. "After everything he's _said_… How can you…?" But Harry couldn't think of how to properly phrase his thoughts.

"Because Malfoy understands how it feels, Harry," Hermione said, simply. "When you and the Weasleys look at me… you see someone helpless. Malfoy doesn't. I'm still me, Harry. And I know you all want to help and I appreciate that. But I need to learn how to do things on my own."

"You're my best friend, Hermione," Harry said, turning a bit so he was facing her more. "I want to understand what you're going through. I want to help you."

Hermione turned in Harry's direction and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Harry."

"Harry!"

Turning to the doors to the Great Hall, Harry saw Ginny looking pale and frantic. "Ginny? What's wrong?"

"You better come see," Ginny said, urgently.

Getting to his feet, Harry took Hermione's hand and they hurried back into the hall and towards the crowd that was gathering a bit off of the Gryffindor table. Pushing through the mob, Harry saw Hedwig sitting on the table but it was what she had pinned down that had everyone backing away nervously. A small snake, about 2 feet long was pinned beneath Hedwig's talons and sharp nips from the owl's beak kept the snake in line as it wriggled. Harry wasn't sure whether or not to try and grab the snake. This seemed to be one of the baby anacondas which meant that it wasn't venomous but it probably wasn't a good idea to get bit in either case.

Feeling something icy cold behind him, Harry turned to see Moaning Myrtle hovering behind him. "Myrtle," Harry said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"There's more of those horrible things—" Myrtle said, pointing at the young anaconda. "—slithering around my bathroom."

Harry looked around and caught Ron's eye. The two hurried out of the Great Hall as fast as they could. Out in the Entrance Hall, Harry quickly related his theory. "That big anaconda must have been the one to kill the giant squid. Then it slithered into the Chamber of Secrets from some entrance far beneath the lake."

"Harry, you're not seriously thinking of going back down there, are you?" Ron said in disbelief. "That snake'll kill you."

"What do you want me to do, Ron?" Harry snapped. "We have to stop that thing. It's not a basilisk. It can't kill us by looking at us."

"No, it can just squeeze the life out of us and swallow us whole!" Ron protested. "You really think we have any sort of chance against something like that?"

"Not alone," Harry said, going back into the Great Hall. When he came back out, he had Malfoy and Neville in tow.

Ron was stunned but seeing the determined look on Harry's face, he sighed and followed the group up the stairs to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "Harry, you better stay here," Ron said, looking at Harry's legs and prosthetics. "We can go a lot quicker than you can."

"And which of you will be speaking Parseltounge?" Harry asked, looking at Neville, Malfoy, and Ron. Seeing the looks from the others, he said, "Look, I may be a bit slower right now but without me you lot can't even get into the entrance."

"Harry, you know Hermione will kill all three of us if we let anything happen to you," Malfoy pointed out. "And since she's only just stopped hating me, I'm rather keen on you staying alive."

Harry nodded and as he walked into the bathroom he had a sense of déjà vu as he stood next to the sink that hid the entrance. _"Open for the tongue of Slytherin,"_ Harry hissed before taking a few steps back as the sink lowered into the floor, exposing the dark, dank tunnel that was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

One at a time, they all jumped down the hole, sliding through the tunnel before landing in a dirty, bone-filled chamber.

When Harry landed, it took him a moment to get to his feet. When Malfoy helped him up, Harry gave him a nod. "Thanks."

"No problem," Malfoy replied as they headed further into the Chamber.

The going was slow and even with the cane, Harry found it hard to walk on the uneven ground and climb through the circular stone portholes. When they came to the entrance to the main chamber, Harry turned to the others. "Wands out," he said, simply as he took his own advice. After opening the door, Harry went through first and slowly climbed down the short ladder to the stone floor below.

As he took a few steps away from the entrance, Harry noticed that the chamber didn't look much different. Except there was the skeleton of a basilisk at the far end of the chamber.

"You certainly pick the most delightful spots, Potter," Malfoy said as he started down the walkway. "Really lovely place, this."

"Just be grateful the basilisk is dead, Malfoy," Ron said as he headed down the walkway behind Malfoy.

"Harry!" Neville exclaimed, whirling around and pointing his wand at the water. When Harry came over to where Neville was standing, Neville said, "I saw something in the water."

"I believe you," Harry said, quietly as he looked around. Deciding to try Parseltounge, he said, _"We don't want to hurt you. Where are you?"_

There were several tense minutes of dead quiet before Harry heard a soft, hissing voice. _"I smell venom on you, humans,"_ the anaconda replied, her voice echoing around the stone. _"You know the deadly power of my cousins. But if you do not leave, you will feel a crushing death. My babies will flourish in this castle and they will be safe for years to come. They will grow large and powerful and you will never be able to stop them!"_

Harry looked around, trying to get a fix on where the snake was. Deciding that talking to the snake was the best way to pinpoint its location, Harry spoke in Parseltounge again.

Neville looked both scared and curious as he listened to Harry speak in the language of snakes. But as Harry spoke, Neville started towards one of the side passageways as he heard what sounded like something sliding across the stone. "Harry, keep it going," Neville said, feeling braver. After all, he'd faced a rattlesnake and lived to tell about it. And this snake didn't have venom. Following the sounds he was hearing, Neville heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn to look. Suddenly, he turned the corner and saw the snake curled up in a deep puddle of murky water.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered, looking at the huge snake.

Malfoy took a step back at the anaconda raised its head and started towards them. "Anyone got any other bright ideas?" he asked, his wand suddenly feeling like nothing more that a useless piece of wood.

"Door's behind you, Malfoy," Ron said, raising his wand. But as he ran through every spell he'd ever learned, he was coming up blank of what to use that wouldn't piss the giant snake off further. After a few moments, he said, "Cover me."

To everyone's surprise, Ron dove for the snake and grabbed it's head but he immediately regretted the decision when he felt how muscular the snake was. The snake threw coils around him and Ron looked wildly at Malfoy, Neville, and Harry as he tried to keep the snake's mouth away from his flesh. "Help me!"

Neville tried to pull the snake off of Ron but even with Malfoy's help, he was only just able to loosen the anaconda's coils. Turning to look at Harry, Neville caught a glimpse of a silvery stag cantering away before Harry joined the fray. "Will you tell the bloody thing to let go of Ron?!" Neville exclaimed as the anaconda's tail thrashed about.

But Harry didn't say anything in English or Parseltounge. His scar had suddenly flared with pain and as he staggered back, tripping on the uneven stone, Harry had a horrifying thought: Voldemort was in the Chamber of Secrets with them! "Who's the fastest runner?" After a seconds, he shouted, "Someone's got to lead the snake off!"

Ron and Neville exchanged looks but it was Malfoy who volunteered. "What do you need me to do?" Malfoy asked, looking at Harry.

"Ron, Neville, when I say so, let go of the snake," Harry instructed, getting slowly to his feet and trying to ignore the searing pain in his scar. "Malfoy, run back to the main chamber."

"You're going to try and wear it out," Neville deduced.

"Something like that," Harry muttered. Once Malfoy moved to the exit and Ron and Neville moved out of the anaconda's line of vision, Harry shouted, "Now!"

Ron let go of the snake and went limp as the snake slithered off of him and towards Malfoy who bolted for the main chamber. Once free of the snake, Ron and the others followed, stopping when they saw Malfoy lying motionless on the ground. And standing over him was Lord Voldemort.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said, quietly as he saw Harry move so that he was in front of Ron and Neville. "How good to see you again."

Harry didn't move but his eyes were darting around wildly. Where was the anaconda?! As quietly as he could, he whispered, "Ron, Neville…Get out of here."

"We're not leaving you, Harry," Ron replied, stubbornly.

"Surely you're not leaving now?" Voldemort said, withdrawing his wand. "But I've only just arrived." Pointing his wand at Harry who was trying to back up a bit, he shouted, "Avada kedavr—" Something surged out of the water and knocked Voldemort off his feet. The anaconda had the Dark Lord in a vicious grip and quickly the huge snake threw its massive coils around Voldemort, squeezing tightly. "Avada…" Voldemort gasped out but his wand had fallen and every time he tried to take a breath the snake's grip tightened. With a last shuddering gasp, Voldemort felt his body weaken before everything went black.

Harry, Ron, and Neville stared, horror-struck as the snake loosened its coils ever so slightly as it moved so that its head was next to Voldemort's head. Opening its jaws wide and turning sideways a bit, the anaconda slowly started to devour the Dark Lord.

While the snake worked on digesting her meal, Harry, Ron, and Neville ran to Malfoy and knelt down next to him. From what they could tell he seemed to still be breathing and after a few moments, decided to get him out of the chamber while the anaconda was busy.

-------------

A sharp burst of pain brought Malfoy back into consciousness and as his vision started to focus he smiled as he saw a most beautiful sight. Hermione's unfocused eyes blazed with anger, but there was the slightest hint of worry. The fire which had been absent since Hermione had become blind was back with a vengeance and Malfoy couldn't help a soft chuckle when he saw it. But instead of being Happy, Hermione promptly hit him again. "OWWW!" Malfoy cried out as he sat up. "What was that for?!"

"You almost died!" Hermione said, her eyes shining with tears.

"I'm still here," Malfoy said, calmly. After a few moments, he said, "Hermione, I do like you. Very much, actually…"

"Wait," Hermione said, quickly. When she didn't hear any protest from Malfoy, she said, "You've been a tremendous help to me, Malfoy. And I never thought you and I would become friends."

"But that's all we'll ever be… isn't it?" Malfoy finished, regretfully.

Hermione nodded, sadly. "Harry and I have been talking."

To Malfoy, those words hurt more than when Hermione had hit him. But he nodded and took Hermione's hand. When she finally gave a weak smile, Malfoy smiled back and gave Hermione's hand a squeeze. "Just do me one favor, Hermione," Malfoy said, looking into Hermione's eyes. When she nodded, he said, "Tell Harry that next time he gets the bloody brilliant idea to go after a 30-foot killer snake he's on his own."

Hermione laughed and nodded before giving Malfoy a kiss on the cheek. Slowly she got up and made her way to the door of the hospital wing.


End file.
